Carleton College
What Carleton College's own numbers say, from its Common Data Set 2025-26.
See your odds at Carleton College →All 5 insights at Carleton College PRO
InternationalCarleton College
International applicants face 5.4× tougher odds at Carleton College.
4.0% of international applicants are admitted, against 22% overall.
Overall22%
International4.0%
Source: Carleton College's Common Data Set 2025-26
Early DecisionCarleton College
Carleton College's ED number is inflated.
35% of Early Decision applicants get in, but that pool includes recruited athletes and legacies, admitted at far higher rates. Without them, our estimate is about 30%. Everyone else: 20%.
ED, as reported35%
ED, without hooks (estimate)≈30%
Everyone else20%
Source: Carleton College's Common Data Set 2025-26; hooked share is an estimate (A12)
Women and menCarleton College
At Carleton College, women get in 1.3× as often.
Women are admitted at 24%, men at 19%.
Women24%
Men19%
Source: Carleton College's Common Data Set 2025-26
MoneyCarleton College
Carleton College meets 100% of need.
The average need-based grant is $66,762 a year, against tuition of $75,186.
Average grant$67k
Tuition$75k
Source: Carleton College's Common Data Set 2025-26
Early DecisionCarleton College
51% of Carleton College's class is filled in Early Decision.
That leaves about 255 seats for 6,036 applicants outside ED.
Admitted Early Decision51%
Everyone else49%
Source: Carleton College's Common Data Set 2025-26
7 more things the data says PRO
- After ED, 255 of 518 seats were left for 6,036 other applicants: about one seat for every 24.
- Early Decision filled about 51% of the 2025-26 first-year class, less than most similar colleges.
- Applications fell 4% from 2018-19 to 2025-26 (7,092 to 6,796).
- ED applicants were admitted at 35%, against 20.2% for everyone else: 1.7 times the rate.
- It reports meeting 100% of financial need for first-years who have need.
- 335 students stayed on the waitlist and 33 were admitted from it (9.9%).
- Men were admitted at a lower rate: 24.3% for women against 19.2% for men.
What students say PRO
From students' own posts on Reddit and admissions forums: self-reported, unverified, never used in your odds.
- Of 9 admits who named a round, 8 applied Regular Decision and 1 applied Early Decision.
- Many admits led for years as club or chapter president, team captain, student-board member or choir section leader.
- About 8 admits were serious athletes, several nationally ranked or captains of varsity teams.
- About 8 admits did research or a field-related internship, from labs to museums to a state legislature.
- About 5 admits founded something, such as a political club, literary magazine, coding clubs or a youth group.
- International applicants face very low odds, with a reported admit rate near 4% versus about 35% for Minnesota residents.
- Carleton gives only need-based aid, no merit; international admits report full-ride packages and a no-loan policy.
- Students note Carleton becomes need-sensitive once its aid budget nears its limit, about 10 to 15% of the class.
- Students report waitlist odds are low: about 10% of those who accepted a spot were admitted, and several were waitlisted.
Every number, year by year: Carleton College on Open College Data. Something wrong? Suggest a correction.